Jealousy is a Strange Thing
by Wrenchy
Summary: Friendship is even stranger. NO PAIRINGS, RATCHET X CLANK IF YOU SQUINT oneshot


**Author's Note: **Dude, I should be actually doing my work in my ROP Game Design class. I'm freaking behind.

I'm feeling too lousy to work. I guess it's like Holden Caulfield from _The Catcher in the Rye _says – you have to just be in the mood for these things.

However, I don't know how I could be in the mood to write _pure friendship fluff_, of all things. I'm feeling depressed and I want to write something happy and sweet. Actually, that sort of makes sense now that I think about it…

**Disclaimer: **Why do I even need to say this? You already know I don't own anything except for _sadness_. I'm going to return to sulking now. Man, I need a Ratchet, Clank, or even _Qwark _plushie to snuggle. (Actually, while we're at it, I need Angela and Talwyn plushies, too. Those two girls are kickass. OH, AND CRONK. And LAWREEEEENCE!)

--

There wasn't a _single _moment when Clank did _not _see the wheels turning in that Lombax's eyes. Always, his partner would always seem to think about what would be the best course of action next. He would always invent relatively useless equipment that nobody but him would ever use, and even he would only use it once. However, Clank wasn't complaining. Ratchet really fascinated the little robot, with his ever-lasting energy to combat crime as well as to build and manufacture.

So, of course, when Ratchet was working on a second robot – he didn't know what the robot was for, of course – he couldn't help but get a little curious.

"What are you doing?" Clank asked curiously as he watched Ratchet twist a bolt on the robot with his handy wrench. The Lombax carried that wrench _everywhere_, and for good reason. It was great for combating any sort of opposition that might pop up, and it was also a handy tool if he needed to repair or build something. Clank couldn't even count how many times that wrench had saved his life – so he regarded it just as fondly as his Lombax companion.

The Lombax looked up from his work, peering at Clank with two excited teal-green eyes. "I'm making a robot," Ratchet announced. "I want to see if I can make it walk and talk and stuff, like you."

_Heh, he was just the typical Lombax. _"Well, you _do _know I was not created by a Lombax, right?" Clank reminded him. "I was created by a supercomputer –"

"—that was made by _Drek_, for goodness sake," Ratchet interrupted haughtily. "If Drek can make _you_, certainly I could –"

"Ratchet, that computer had a mind of her own," the robot informed him. It was true – his mother rebelled against her programming, so it wasn't of Drek's mind but of her _own _mind that she would make a small little robot like Clank. She regarded him proudly as he acted on his own accord, not like a Sentry Bot. She wanted to rid the world of evil, and he gladly assisted her in this task – in fact, he still _was _assisting her. He would stay with Ratchet, who would inevitably head straight toward Evil's jaws, and he would help Ratchet fight his way out. Or at least, that was the idea.

Ratchet shrugged, waving a gloved hand. "Well, whatever." He bent down on his knees, moving his wrench and gripping at a loose bolt with the end of the device. "She was just a supercomputer." The robot fidgeted as he messed with the bolt, only with the action of the wrench pressing against its foot.

"She was my _mother_ –"

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, my point is, she wasn't organic. Imagine what I could do with my skills. This will be the greatest robot _ever_!"

Clank frowned.

He didn't understand why, but that bothered him. What the Lombax said bothered him a great deal.

It wasn't the "she wasn't organic" that bothered him – Clank understood his point. The supercomputer wasn't built with too much creativity – Clank had to admit he still looked a bit like a Sentry Bot. It was the last sentence that irked him. And he just _didn't know why_.

He hadn't realized he looked perturbed until he heard the clang of the wrench dropping to the ground and he found himself peering into two concerned eyes. "What's wrong, buddy?" Ratchet asked softly, bending down on one knee and placing a gloved hand on Clank's left shoulder.

"I-it is nothing," Clank replied, not really sure of the answer himself. Actually, he hadn't been sure _what _was bothering him. He knew it was a phrase but he didn't know what about it that made him aggravated. "Just continue to work on your _robot_." For some reason, he couldn't help but slip acid into his voice as he said the last word.

The Lombax stared at him, like as if he didn't believe Clank – and the robot wouldn't have been surprised if that were the case. However, the robot's companion nodded as he lifted back to his feet, taking his gloved hand off of Clank's shoulder and returning to the incomplete robot.

Clank cursed himself. He didn't want to make Ratchet worry. It was _his _job to worry about _Ratchet_, not the other way around. Ratchet was the one constantly risking his life almost every week.

An uncomfortable silence fell between the two of them as the Lombax continued to work on his new robot, and Clank felt guilty for spoiling his friend's fun. He wanted to program a new robot to show off his creative skills – Clank just simply couldn't understand why the thought aggravated him, but it had, causing him to react that way. However, the Lombax didn't deserve to be the brunt of angry treatment. However, it was with the Lombax that Clank was frustrated – and he didn't know why.

He once again thought of the robot, and that brought him to think about how he himself was a robot – and how this robot would be the _best of them_, and…

Was he… _jealous_?

No, Clank didn't get jealous. He was too compassionate about others, loved the world too much, enjoyed a richer life. He wouldn't get jealous over something like this. It was so _petty_, being jealous of a robot that wasn't even finished yet. And yet… he couldn't help it. For some reason, he _knew _it was jealousy, now that the thought occurred to him, but he just wasn't willing to accept it.

"What is that robot for?" he blurted out unintentionally, and felt the urge to slap himself rising.

"He's just as a test – he's supposed to be a good friend," Ratchet replied. "What, you thought I'd create a robot to like, carry my weapons or something?"

Clank winced.

"What is it _with _you, anyway?" the Lombax asked, turning away from his work _yet again _to narrow his eyes at the little robot. It was a scrutinizing look – one that Clank did _not _like _one bit_. "You've been acting really strange ever since I said your mom wasn't organic. Were you offended by that?"

Great. Now Ratchet thought that he had hurt Clank's feelings with that statement about his mother.

"No, no, not at all," Clank immediately objected. "I understood your point." He really did.

"Then _why_, may I ask, are you acting so weird?"

How could he explain _that_? He was already feeling extremely uncomfortable under Ratchet's fixed stare on him, which didn't waver at all. He just wanted his friend to leave him alone – these petty feelings weren't important, and Clank trusted him… or was he not right to? Was Ratchet going to up and leave him for this robot?

_Wait a minute._

Ratchet was his best friend and would always be. So _why _did he think that? Why did the thought even cross his mind? Did he really think that his best friend, one of his _only _friends, would abandon him?

"That robot…" Clank breathed. If, hypothetically, a robot _could _breathe. "You want to make another companion? I just… I do not understand…"

Realization seemed to dawn on Ratchet as Clank saw the Lombax straighten, the look on his face softening. He knew that the Lombax figured it out – he was being immature, being _jealous_. He could never live down the taunts that the Lombax would say now, saying how the normally sensible one was going to act like this. If Ratchet wasn't going to abandon him before, he _certainly _was going to now. Oh, how could Clank be so _stupid_?

So, of course, Clank was certainly caught by surprise when he was swept off his feet by Ratchet's right arm as the Lombax pulled him in for a friendly hug, fisting his other hand right behind Clank.

"If you think I'm replacing _you_, you'd better replace your memory banks," Ratchet reassured him, his voice a mere comforting whisper. Clank could only return the embrace as he listened to his best friend. "Don't you remember all the adventures we have been through? How – how I almost _lost _you? How I actually _did _lose you?" He felt the Lombax tremble, and then relax once more. "You're more than just a sidekick to me, Clank. You're my _best friend_. I'd never abandon you."

"Thu… thank you," was the only thing Clank could say as Ratchet pulled back out of the hug, and the robot simultaneously did the same. He forgot that he had worried Ratchet into depression when he had disappeared with the Zoni – in fact, he still felt guilty about that even to this day. How could even forget that?

_Jealousy was a strange thing._

"If you want," Ratchet offered, "I don't have to make the other robot. If that will reassure you that we will stay best friends for good, that is." Ratchet gazed into Clank's glowing green eyes, and Clank could see nothing but absolute sincerity within those teal-greens.

_Friendship can sometimes be even stranger._

Clank smiled. "Do not let me disturb you, Ratchet," he told him. "I have all the reassurance I need."

_But it's all we all need to get through the day – and through jealousy._


End file.
